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Saturday, November 14, 2009
Fierro Gets Seven Years
By Vic Vela
Copyright © 2009 Albuquerque Journal
Journal Northern Bureau
SANTA FE — Holding back tears in a state District Courtroom on Friday, James Tenorio spoke of the anguish his family felt at a hospital last year when they knew their father and "best friend" was about to die.
"We were being forced to hear the last rites be performed when we weren't ready to let go," the teenage San Felipe Pueblo boy said as his two sisters, Adrianne and Dianna, stood by his side.
The man responsible for killing William Tenorio, Carlos Fierro, 37, was sentenced by state District Judge Michael Vigil on Friday to seven years in prison. But a plea agreement reached before sentencing opens the door for Fierro's release as soon as 2 1/2 years from now.
That agreement also means that the Tenorio family will not have to go through another trial or worry about an appeal.
Fierro — once a lauded attorney — apologized to the family for his actions during the early morning hours of Nov. 26, 2008, when he ran over the victim in a downtown Santa Fe hit-and-run.
"I made a horrible mistake that night, and I'll always live with it," an often teary-eyed Fierro said. "With all my heart, I offer you myself. I offer you my sorrow. I ask you for forgiveness."
Fierro also apologized to his own family. "I'm sorry for shaming you," he said.
Fierro admitted during his trial to driving drunk before plowing his black BMW into Tenorio as the victim was walking across the street from the now-defunct WilLee's Blues Club on S. Guadalupe Street.
In the car with Fierro was passenger Alfred Lovato — a State Police sergeant and member of Gov. Bill Richardson's security detail at the time. The two men had been drinking several hours leading up to the accident.
Lovato faces the same charges as Fierro and will be in court to resume his probable cause hearing Monday.
Fierro's blood alcohol concentration after the accident was 0.21 percent, nearly three times the state's presumed level of intoxication.
Fierro's attorneys — Jason Bowles and Bob Gorence — reminded jurors that Tenorio had also been drinking that evening. They argued that the accident was unavoidable, saying Tenorio was wearing dark clothing and that he was not paying attention to his surroundings.
A jury last month was unable to agree on a verdict on the charge of leaving the scene of an accident. Fierro on Friday resolved that matter by pleading no contest to that charge.
In addition to the maximum six-year prison term he received for vehicular homicide, Fierro will serve another year for leaving the scene — a deal he reached with the District Attorney's Office before the hearing.
That crime carried a potential for three years behind bars, but the plea calls for two of those years to be suspended. Fierro will receive credit for about a year's time that he was on electronic monitoring.
The deal also means that Fierro will not serve time as a serious violent offender. He is eligible for parole after he serves half his total seven-year sentence, as long as he receives "good time" behind bars.
In exchange for those concessions, Fierro will not pursue an attempt at a new trial or an appeal.
Before sentencing, Fierro's uncle, Tom Cordova, reminded Vigil that his nephew has been "a productive member of society" and said that Fierro is "an incredible father of a beautiful 9-year-old daughter."
Fierro's daughter sent Vigil a handwritten letter in which she said, "My daddy is not a bad man."
"He is very (gentle) and sweet and kind and loving. He is a very (decent) man and would do anything to get out of this mess."
The normally reserved members of the Tenorio family were emotional at times Friday. Rose Tenorio, William's mother, said that Fierro "left (her son) broken on a city street, in front of horrified witnesses."
The mother said the Legislature needs to change the maximum sentencing for the crime Fierro was convicted of. "Six years is not enough," she said. "The sentence should be stiffer for vehicular homicide."
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